Alternatives / Roam Research
Looking for an open source Roam Research alternative? We compared 13 open source note-taking and knowledge tools by license, backlinks, encryption, self-hosting, and AI features. They range from outliners with backlinks to encrypted notes apps and AI research tools, and some use source-available licenses.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Logseq | Closest local-first outliner with backlinks | AGPL-3.0 |
| SiYuan | Block-based notes with bidirectional links | AGPL-3.0 |
| SilverBullet | Self-hosted Markdown wiki with queries | MIT |
| Tolaria | Markdown files with Git and AI | AGPL-3.0 |
| Anytype | Local-first workspace (source available) | Any Source Available License 1.0 |
| Memos | Self-hosted private timeline of notes | MIT |
| Joplin | Encrypted notes with many sync options (server is source available) | AGPL-3.0-or-later (apps) + Joplin Server Personal Use License |
| Notesnook | End-to-end encrypted notes | GPL-3.0 |
| Standard Notes | Encrypted, long-lived notes | AGPL-3.0 |
| Blinko | AI-powered card notes | GPL-3.0 |
| Open Notebook | AI-assisted research | MIT |
| Deta Surf | Browser plus notebook for research | Apache-2.0 |
| Beaver Notes | Offline notes with linking and LaTeX | MIT |
We looked for open-source tools that overlap with Roam's core: linked notes, daily notes, and a graph of ideas built on bidirectional links. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. Roam is a networked, outliner-style thinking tool, so we note which alternatives support backlinks and which are plain note apps. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Logseq, SiYuan, SilverBullet, Tolaria, Anytype, and Beaver Notes support linking between notes. Memos, Notesnook, Standard Notes, and Joplin are notes apps with limited graph features, and Blinko, Open Notebook, and Surf are AI-oriented tools. Choose Logseq or SiYuan first if backlinks and outlining are the point.
Anytype uses the Any Source Available License 1.0, which is not an OSI open-source license. Joplin's apps are AGPL-3.0-or-later, but its Joplin Server has a Personal Use License. Logseq, SiYuan, Tolaria, and Standard Notes are AGPL-3.0, Notesnook is GPL-3.0, and Memos, SilverBullet, Open Notebook, and Beaver Notes are MIT.
Logseq is the closest: a local-first outliner with daily journals, backlinks, flashcards, PDF annotation, and whiteboards. SiYuan offers block-based notes with bidirectional links, flashcards, and a database, and SilverBullet is a self-hosted Markdown wiki with queries that need some Lua for deeper customization.
Notesnook, Standard Notes, and Joplin offer end-to-end encryption, and Anytype syncs peer to peer. Some sync options, such as Joplin Cloud, are paid add-ons, and team use of SiYuan requires self-hosting with Docker.
Most projects had commits within days of this update. Blinko's last commit was in August 2026, and Surf's in August 2026.
Roam Research is a proprietary hosted service sold by subscription, with notes stored on its servers and a closed codebase. Open-source alternatives let you keep notes in local files or your own server, use open formats such as Markdown, add encryption, and avoid a subscription, at the cost of fewer polished collaboration features.
Memos is an MIT-licensed self-hosted notes application built around a chronological Markdown timeline. It focuses on capturing ideas, work logs, links, and short notes quickly instead of recreating Notion's full workspace model.
Pricing: Free and open source under MIT; self-hosted deployment is available.
Joplin is a cross-platform note-taking app with end-to-end encryption, Markdown support, web clipping, attachments, and sync through Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, or Nextcloud. The apps are AGPL-3.0-or-later, while the self-hostable Joplin Server is under a Personal Use License, which is source available rather than open source.
Pricing: Free and open source; optional hosted synchronization is available.
SiYuan is an AGPL-3.0 local-first knowledge management system with block-level editing, backlinks, database blocks, graph views, flashcards, offline storage, and Docker deployment.
Pricing: Free and open source under AGPL-3.0 with local and self-hosted deployment options.
Logseq is an AGPL-3.0 local-first knowledge management application centered around outlines, blocks, backlinks, queries, flashcards, whiteboards, and connected Markdown documents.
Pricing: Free and open source under AGPL-3.0; the core workflow is local-first and file-based.
Open Notebook is an MIT research and learning platform built around notebooks, source-grounded chat, citations, document and web ingestion, AI-generated notes, summaries, study material, and podcast-style audio.
Pricing: Free and self-hostable under MIT; model and speech-provider costs may apply.
AGPL-3.0-or-later desktop app for Markdown vaults stored as normal folders and files, with Git version history, wikilinks, a block editor, whiteboards, and AI integrations.
Pricing: Open-source local-first desktop application.
Notesnook is a GPL-3.0 privacy-focused note-taking application with end-to-end encryption, cross-platform clients, note linking, a web clipper, rich editing, offline support, and self-hostable synchronization.
Pricing: Open source under GPL-3.0 with self-hostable sync; hosted services may be available.
Blinko is a self-hosted AI-powered note-taking and personal knowledge management application for quickly capturing ideas and organizing information while keeping control of the deployment.
Pricing: Free and open source under GPL-3.0; self-hosted deployment is available.
Anytype is a local-first encrypted knowledge workspace with documents, tasks, databases, wikis, Kanban and gallery views, graph relationships, and peer-to-peer synchronization. Its source is public under the Any Source Available License 1.0, which is source available rather than OSI-approved open source.
Pricing: Source available under Any Source Available License 1.0; local-first clients and self-hosted infrastructure options are available, with commercial-use restrictions.
Standard Notes is an AGPL-3.0 encrypted note-taking application focused on privacy, longevity, secure synchronization, offline access, and a self-hosted server option.
Pricing: Open-source main app with self-hosting; some advanced hosted features require a subscription.
SilverBullet is a self-hosted Markdown knowledge base that combines wiki-style linking with queries and scripting. Notes remain portable Markdown files while structured metadata and programmable features are layered on top.
Pricing: Free and self-hosted; check the repository for the current open-source license and deployment requirements.
Deta Surf is an Apache-2.0 AI notebook and research browser combining websites, PDFs, YouTube videos, local files, images, notes, citations, web search, and local or hosted models.
Pricing: Free and open source under Apache-2.0; provider and infrastructure costs may apply.
Beaver Notes is an MIT-licensed offline-first note-taking application focused on privacy and local data ownership. It supports Markdown, note linking, attachments, drawings, mathematical notation, and user-controlled synchronization.
Pricing: Free and open source under MIT; local-first use is available with optional user-controlled synchronization.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memos | Notes timeline | MIT | Yes | Quick private notes |
| Joplin | Notes app | AGPL-3.0-or-later + Server Personal Use | Yes | Encrypted sync |
| Open Notebook | AI research tool | MIT | Yes | Research and summaries |
| SiYuan | Block-based notes | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Backlinks and flashcards |
| Logseq | Outliner | AGPL-3.0 | Local-first | Linked thinking |
| Tolaria | Knowledge base | AGPL-3.0 | Local files | Markdown and Git |
| Notesnook | Encrypted notes | GPL-3.0 clients / AGPL-3.0 server | Yes | Private notes |
| Blinko | AI card notes | GPL-3.0 | Yes | Capturing ideas |
| Anytype | Local-first workspace | Any Source Available License 1.0 | Peer to peer | Workspaces |
| SilverBullet | Markdown wiki | MIT | Yes | Queries and scripting |
| Standard Notes | Encrypted notes | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Long-lived notes |
| Deta Surf | Browser and notebook | Apache-2.0 | Desktop app | Research |
| Beaver Notes | Offline notes | MIT | Local | Linked notes |
Want the closest Roam-style outliner
Logseq offers daily journals, backlinks, flashcards, PDF annotation, and whiteboards, local-first under AGPL-3.0.
Want block-based notes with bidirectional links
SiYuan offers blocks, bidirectional links, flashcards, and a database, with Docker self-hosting for teams.
Want a self-hosted Markdown wiki
SilverBullet is an MIT browser-based Markdown wiki with queries, and deeper customization requires Lua.
Want encrypted notes
Notesnook offers end-to-end encryption and a self-hostable sync server, with GPL-3.0 clients.
Want AI-assisted research
Open Notebook is an MIT AI research tool with summarization and multi-format ingestion.
Want a private timeline of quick notes
Memos is an MIT self-hosted notes timeline, not built for outlining or backlinks.